The Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) has released a What We Heard Report that presents the findings from the first round of engagement on modernizing the Northwest Territories (NWT) Education Act.

The travelling exhibit ‘Breathe: Creating resilience through traditional art’ presented by the Departments of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) and Health and Social Services (HSS) is set to open Tuesday, December 7, 2021 at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (PWNHC).

The exhibit will be on display until April 2022 and can be viewed Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm at PWNHC.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) are pleased to announce the launch of a credited “Hunter Education” course for high school students in the Northwest Territories (NWT). This course will provide new hunters with the fundamental knowledge and basic skills needed for them to become respectful and safe hunters.

Check against delivery

Mr. Speaker, this government has committed to transforming our education system with the goal of improving the lives of all our residents. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment, has some exciting initiatives that were undertaken in collaboration with education partners, industry, Indigenous governments and the federal government.

Effective January 2022, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) will be amending the Trade Entrance Requirements.

Each designated trade in the Northwest Territories (NWT) has specific educational requirements that prospective apprentices must meet before signing an apprenticeship contract.  The Trades Entrance Requirements require one of three options: the completion of specific high school courses; a mark of 70% or higher in the Trades Entrance Exam; or completion of all five Canadian General Educational Development (GED) tests.

Diploma Exams and Alberta Achievement Tests (AATs) have been disrupted in the Northwest Territories (NWT) over the last two school years due to COVID-19. While recognizing the learning impacts the pandemic has had on students, and balancing the importance of monitoring the education system as a whole, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) will administer these tests with accommodations for the 2021-2022 school year.

These accommodations include: 

The Department of Education, Culture and Employment is currently accepting applications for the Indigenous Language Revitalization Scholarship.

Scholarships of $5,000 will be awarded to help students offset the costs of completing a certificate, diploma, degree program, or other training that supports Indigenous language revitalization.

 The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (PWNHC) re-opened on October 30 and is announcing the extension of the Treaty 11 Document Exhibit until November 21, 2021.

The document, which is in booklet form, has been on display at the PWNHC since September, with a page turned every week to provide the public with the opportunity to see each signatory page.

Due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Yellowknife, Behchokǫ̀, Ndilǫ, and Dettah, the PWNHC was temporarily closed to the public, pausing the weekly page turning of the document.

R.J. Simpson, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE), met virtually with education leaders on Oct. 19 to discuss the ongoing school closures amid the COVID-19 outbreak in the Northwest Territories (NWT). Minister Simpson also provided updates on major ECE initiatives to improve student outcomes in the NWT.

The Department of Health and Social Services, in conjunction with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, is introducing a new COVID-19 at-home student screening program to help protect the unvaccinated NWT student population (ages 5-11).